I am...the solution.

Sometimes we hurt because the church is struggling. Or we hunger because something in our spiritual community is lacking. It's easy to look to the church for our needs or to criticize during hard times. God designed the body of believers to be a place for spiritual growth, healing, and fellowship, and we often expect the church to design the perfect situation for certain types of spiritual experiences. Yet, the responsibility of spiritual growth and connectedness does not fall solely upon church leadership. We, the bride of Christ, must accept our own responsibility in fostering community within the church.

We follow and submit to godly church leadership by giving of ourselves. We grow in fellowship by serving and gathering together. That should happen within the church building and beyond--in the places we work, live, and play. Our yearning for community may never be satiated by attending service at a megachurch on Sunday morning. We need to be in Christian fellowship in deeper, face-to-face ways where both accountability and celebration happen between believers.

The leadership of the church cannot facilitate this for every person. Programs and events may help, but ultimately the climate of the church and the community fostered among the people depends on the congregation as they grasp their biblical role. Yet, honestly, we often want church leadership to foster community for us or to be selective about the types of believers we rub shoulders with.

Let's face it. Greeters at the door are wonderful in setting the first impression and welcoming. Severs at the coffee and information counters help us feel served and important. But sustained fellowship and belonging in the community comes from one's personal investment. We sacrifice for those things we find most valuable.

I guess I have been exposed to many conversations and witnessed much change as people long for community and set out to find the perfect fit in other local churches. I'm plugged in and serving, but felt the desire for better connection myself. I considered leaving. But ultimately, I decided with the Lord that I want to be a part of the solution for my church. I could go elsewhere, and would feel more comfortable in another setting, but I'm up for the awkwardness if it means we grow together. This mix of people; the normals and the crazies, the loosie goosies and the rigids; are my church family. We share Christ in common among our community.

And I am responsible to be a part of the solution.

Love that Never Fails

A few months early, you welcomed me into the world. My first breaths sustained by your hand, and you gave me a name that finds its fulfillment in you.

Though my earliest memories include hurt and fear and learning to hate, you patiently waited--longsuffering because your hand would redeem.

On a farm you trained me to be free, to dream without limits, to love family, to see you in creation, and to run. And in a small town you taught me about a Savior named Jesus who died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins. But you must have seen the trials ahead, because you breathed into me that day a peace I'd never known. A memory to mark my path.

You transplanted me in Kansas and welcomed me into the family of God. I never had to search for you. You drew near and affected the world around me, enveloping me in the great joy of my life--your church, your children.

You were patient to let me grow and fail. You trained my heart and mind in your ways, though we spent our time acquainted with failure. And the enemy fought hard. I often went to him, though I loved you. Life became a torment, but like Hosea, you stood your ground next to this adultress.

Days of blackness and sin prevailed. I asked you to die and hated the life that you breathed into me each day. You refused to quit. You are a jealous God.

You continued to love me. And your patience came to an end. You sent your representative and gave me a choice. I chose to live.

Affirmed that my life would be spent knowing you, responding to you, learning to love you...I prepared for a life of service. But you had to change my hands and heart.

You gifted me with discernment and showed me the reality of my union with sin, my eyes opened wide. You stepped with me into the lion's den, but did not let them prevail nor allow fear to consume. Terror looked me in the face, but friends came alongside me.
  
The sins that entangled me became their entanglement, too. They shared with me in the fight for life and the putting on of a new garment. Because of your children I am no longer a slave to sin. You taught them to love like you, and so they have loved me.

Your discipline, your love, your name breathes life into me.

What more could I attest to than your unfailing love? To what could I give my life outside of your relentless pursuit? My life is hidden in you.

To my friends, my family, and to any I meet. Please keep in mind the order of love that I now know:
The one whom I love has first loved me.

I tie my shoes with a double knot

Need more faith. Wisdom. Boldness. Singleness of heart. Vision. Relentless passion. To lay all things aside. And pick up my calling. To run the race that is uniquely mine. To suffer road rash and fatigue with hope. No looking back. Running toward my rest. And jumping the cliff. Free falling. The power of God my confidence in weakness.

I tie my shoes with a double knot.

Who is God?

This morning I asked my 5th grade girls, "Who is God?" They wrote their answers on paper and gave them to me:

My savior and messia
Our creator and leader
God is are savry
Our lord creater and savior
The alpha, the omaga, the mighty creator
Savior
Are savior
Our saviour
King of all kings
My savour
God is the creator
God is our creater
My savyor all myty, Jahova, love
God is the creater of all
God is are wholey father that created us and loved us instantly
The Lord all middy
God is a savior

What great voices these young people have! I pray that their hearts will learn to love Jesus with everything they've got.

Returning to the Place of Failure (Joshua 8)

To the ladies of Route 56.

Ugh! Do you ever get that feeling in the pit of your stomach when you stumble upon the memory, person, or place of a previous failure? Even if you try to navigate the situation in a godly way, you can still see your failure face-to-face. In those moments anger, bitterness, or hoplessness can get the better of us--it hits where it hurts. And why does it hurt? Maybe because as much as someone else may have failed, we've failed, too. And so we face up to the fact that God often lets us return to the place of our failures. (And sometimes, when we are without fault, God lets us return to a place of pain for healing.)

I've lately been wondering, and honestly confused, how to navigate my mind around this familiar place. It seems like the same place I've been before. I seem to have the same shortcomings. But I know God has allowed me here. And the result doesn't have to be the same. He has changed me and taught me, so I'm not locked into my past failures. Through grace I get another chance. What seems like the "same old" is really a new opportunity for faith and the extension of the gospel into daily life.

In Joshua 8, that's what God did to the Israelites. The sin of Achan caused the whole Israelite army to flee like squealing girls the first time they faced Ai in battle. Then, fresh after that nasty (and humiliating) beating, God commanded them to return courageously for another try.

Do you notice that God's not questioning the outcome (v.1)? He's confident of what He's chosen to happen to this city. God knows where our hearts need to be, and He leads us there. As we return with Him to the place of our failure, He's not rubbing our face in the mud. We can have courage because He's teaching our hearts to change.

Maybe what looks despairing or frustratingly familiar, or what brings back all the old emotions we once felt, isn't really the same place. God may be helping you navigate through it differently this time--stronger, more sure of the truth, practicing righteousness, etc.

Only you can choose to make the same failure twice. Why not courageously embrace or learn what God would call you to this time? Returning to a place of failure is an opportunity for deeper dependence on the grace you have freely been given through Christ. Let's act on it!

(c) 2010 by Kendra Hinkle.

The Really BIG Little Moments - Joshua 5

To the ladies of Route 56.

Sometimes a little moment is so BIG that you enter into it carefully. Respectfully. Almost fearfully. You approach. Take a breath. Walk away--but not completely. Pause. If you're in, you're all in. Time to reapproach....and dive in. Let the moment swallow you whole. You know the cost, but the value of what's ahead is even greater. This is a really BIG little moment.

I can't help but wonder if the Israelites in Joshua 5 understood the bigness of their little moment after crossing the Jordan River. This is a new generation! Why not storm ahead into the Promised Land and take what God has given?!

But God didn't choose to display his magnitude in this moment by physical might or zeal. Instead, he humbled Israel to a place of remembrance and dependence. An unclean, foreign prostitute (Rahab) enabled them to spy out the land safely. The Ark of the Covenant, held by priests - not valiant soldiers, led them across the flooded Jordan River into their new homeland. Once across, the mighty men were weakened by circumcision and healing.

They needed to be weakened. The generation before them, unbelieving in God's ability to accomplish what He promised Abraham (Gen. 12, 15), failed to circumcise their children. This new generation taking hold of the Promised Land did not have the sign of the covenant God required. Their hearts had been prepared by growing up as wanderers in the desert, but they needed to be circumcised according to God's command. A new generation needs to look back in order to remember the how and where ahead of them.

These few chapters hinge Israelite history: the expectation of the past is connected to the realization of God's promise. To grasp the overwhelming success of God's plan, Israel must connect their hands and their hearts together. Faith and action are to be wed. That's what's happening in this moment. And God confirms His pleasure with their action (circumcision) by revealing that His angelic army are present and ready to fight alongside them. The angel raises His sword, a hand and heart in unison.

So, what about you? Can you see what God may be calling your generation to do, connecting your hearts and hands together?

Our really BIG little moment is now. What are you going to do with it?


(c) 2010 by Kendra Hinkle.

On the Holy Spirit (Poem 1.1.3. De Spiritu Sancto)

an excerpt by Gregory Nazianzus

He was a man, but God. David’s offspring, but Adam’s Maker.

A bearer of flesh, but, even so, beyond all body.

From a mother, but she a virgin.

Comprehensible, but immeasurable.

And a manger received him, while a star led the Magi,

who so came bearing gifts, and fell on bended knee.

As a man he entered the arena, but he prevailed, as indomitable,

over the tempter in three bouts.

Food was set before him, but he fed thousands, and changed the water into wine.

He got baptized, but he washed sins clean,

but he was proclaimed by the Spirit, in a voice of thunder, to be the Son of the One

Uncaused.

As a man he took rest, and as God he put to rest the sea.

His knees were wearied, but he bolstered the strength and knees of the lame.

He prayed, but who was it who heard the petitions of the feeble?

He was the sacrifice, but the high priest: making an offering, but himself God.

He dedicated his blood to God, and cleansed the entire world.

And a cross carried him up, while the bolts nailed fast sin.

But what’s it for me to say these things? He had company with the dead,

But he rose from the dead, and the dead, the bygone, he raised up:

There a mortal’s poverty, here the incorporeal’s wealth.

Don’t you dishonor, then, his divinity on account of his human things,

but, for the divine’s sake, hold in renown the earthly form

into which, thougthful towards you, he formed himself, the incorruptible Son.

Those Scandalous Christians!

"It is interesting to find that outside of the New Testament, the earliest response to singing among the Christians comes not from one of their own number, but from a Roman official. In the year 109 A.D., during the reign of the Emperor Trajan, and not long after the death of the Apostle John, Pliny the Younger was appointed governor of the province of Bithynia in Asia Minor. In one of his first reports he told the emperor of his contact with the curious sect of the Christians, and of how he had been solemnly assured that their worst offense was in gathering before dawn on an appointed day--no doubt Sunday--to sing in responsive fashion hymns to Christ as God."

by Edward S. Ninde, D.D. in Nineteen Centuries of Christian Song (MCMXXXVIII)

Garden - week 3

This is one of our square foot garden boxes. We've also got a "Three Sisters" mound. Everything except the cantaloupe is growing!

With God as Your Reward

Rise up and take your place.

God is your great reward.

No one will ever satisfy

Like Him who make you whole.

He called you in the night

And spoke to your deaf ears.

Christ so worthy redeemed your soul,

Restored the locust's years.

To whom now do you turn?

Has one man loved you more

Than He who set your life ablaze

Amid the winter storm?

How far has he removed

Your punishment from you.

How purely white you have been cleansed

And washed with grace anew.

Rise, O, rise, child of God

To take your place and lead

A faithful generation home

With God the one you please.

(c) 2010 by Kendra Hinkle.

Definitely has some rough spots....not my favorite....but rewarding to write.

Love and Justice

8.6.8.6.

God's justice satisfied at last

On Christ the Son wrath poured.

God's perfect love and just demand

Reveal His nature pure.

He raised from Adam's curse of death

Our everlasting King.

Almighty God in grace procured

A righteous gathering.

Through faith desire commenced within

Now our affections rise.

Completed He what we could not

And opened blinded eyes.

All hail the King of wondrous works

Whose body bears the scars.

True love's sacrificial gift

And heaven's full reward.

(c) 2010 by Kendra Hinkle.

Born Country

My friend Marcy just posted a country video on her blog. It brought back some memories...

No Chairs Inside

8.8.8.8.

The holy priests in garments white
Unending work, no chairs inside
For who could rest from sin's effect
Unceasing flow of blood to let

Sufficient grace, Christ's offering
One final priest and last Lamb slain
His work completed once-for-all
He sat to rule and stayed the Law

Death passed by me, forgiveness mine
All glory to the risen King!
In stone no more God's precepts writ
For on my heart reads truth divine.

No chairs inside this heart so changed
I stand to meet the Christ I love
My will with His, my passions raised
And eyes so fixed on Him enthroned.


(c) 2010 by Kendra Hinkle. Inspiration from Hebrews 10.

Could I But Earn My Savior's Love

8.6.8.6.

Could I but earn my Savior's love
by striving to repay?
Could I preserve eternal robes
so well His favor swayed?

My inner lot shall not redeem
Salvation's costly gain.
Nor will I buy the right man's eye
For holiness to feign.

I can't dismiss my ransom paid,
Eternal Son came down.
His flesh for mine, perfection slain,
My guilt in Him atoned.


(c) 2010 by Kendra Hinkle.

To Harbor Safe

S.M.

Angels sing of glory,
While earth in labor waits.
Christ's melody of faithful love
Guides ships to harbor safe.

Though the sky is empty
And evil takes its stand,
My eyes hold to the cloudless sky
To see the Son of Man.

I will wait for Glory.
Yes, I will watch for Him.
My heart beholds salvific love
Secured by gracious winds.


(c) 2010 by Kendra Hinkle.

Words to Speak - In what do you delight?

What will our words earn us
Before the throne of God?
Will not the grand and certain boast
Deserve the wrathful flood?

Words of deepest marrow
Let spill from open lips.
Confession tunes our hearts to God
And quickens willful steps.

Leave your chains of safety.
Delight in God most high.
He pours His praise on faithful men
And hears their rightful cry.


(c) 2010 by Kendra Hinkle.

Part of this Psalm was written in response to my thinking on Psalm 37.

Revive Me

7.6.7.6.

Revive me, O God, revive.
Let these empty bones live.
In lovingkindness keep me,
My feet secure from whim.

To You, O Lord, I listen.
Your words embody truth.
What other voice would I trust
For wisdom's good rebuke?

With weakness in this vessel,
My feet are prone to run.
But let your Word still my heart
And tune my ears to One.

(c) 2010 by Kendra Hinkle.

Inspiration from Psalm 138.

God Pomp

8.7.8.7.

Arise and sing to natures King,
Our hope and Lord of Glory.
To Him be praise for world so raised.
With gleaming pride adore Him.

Shine forth your worth with image birthed,
O man you are a wonder.
For purest Light breathed forth man's life.
Exalt the great Creator.

But Adam fell and bent t'ward Hell,
Despising God Almighty.
Imputed sin indebted men,
Not one escapes the jury.

Yet Christ redeemed with death so pleased,
The spotless Lamb forsaken.
His stately tree from bended knee
Invites the weak and broken.

Renown exceeds His gentle deed.
No idol wins such honor.
All hail the King of Victory,
Jesus alone our Savior.

(c) 2010 by Kendra Hinkle.

The Eyes of God

C.M. 8.6.8.6.

The eyes of God that see the heart
In righteousness prevail.
Yea man sees not the soul's great worth
And reckons man to fail.

But neither sin or scoff will part
God's vow of selfless love.
For sure behind the christened lot
He veils His holy Dove.

Complain we not for His name's sake
All laud belongs to Him.
Each one we came with empty hands
No payment for our sin.

All kin by faith, beloved throng,
Pronounce the sacred head.
We are the church who stands as one
Through resurrection wed.

(C) 2010 by Kendra Hinkle.


God humbled me recently through a brother's brokenness. My response to his weakness contrasted the frustration I sometimes feel. Philippians 2:14-16 brought conviction about my attitude of self-righteousness. Disunity has no place in the church of Christ. When I judge according to my sinful attitude, I look past the child of God and to the failure I assume is his. As the church, we need God's Word to bring us truth in the midst of relational difficulties.

The Road to Zion

10.10.10.10.

Shadows fall long on this dry, dusty road.
Pathway to Zion its mystery holds.
Highest of mountains before and behind
Carve the valley of weeping, O faith's night!

Long is the path, but soon will be the day
Our rising Redeemer will end night's stay.
His promise of grace enables our eyes.
From strength to strength His ready might supplied.

Now is the day through storms to persevere.
One day before the throne we will appear.
Praise with hope the Father, Spirit and Son,
For our feet on the path that's wrought with love.

(C) 2010 by Kendra Hinkle.



This song has been birthed as I slowly emerge from my own valley of weeping. Psalm 84 ministered to my heart so strongly, and propelled me to consider the Lord's place with me during this time. I will arrive at Zion in strength.

A Song for the Martyrs

Below is one stanza from Martin Luther's song "Flung to the Heedless Winds." Luther started the reformation, which split the protestant church from the Catholic church in the 16th-17th centuries. Many people died taking a stand for salvation through faith apart from works, the place of Scripture as the church's authority, etc. It's amazing to read as you place yourself in the shoes of someone who said goodbye to a faithful saint.

Stanza #9
Flung to the heedless winds
Or on the waters cast,
The martyrs' ashes watched,
Shall gathered be at last.
And from that scattered dust,
Around us and abroad,
Shall spring a plenteous seed
Of witnesses for God.

The Father hath received
Their latest living breath,
And vain is Satan's boast
Of vict'ry in their death.
Still, still, tho' dead, they speak,
And, trumpet-tongued, proclaim
To many a wak'ning land
The one availing Name.

God Verbs (2)

7.6.7.6.

God lives forever holy.
God speaks forever true.
God creates out of nothing.
God breathes life into you.

God sees every sinful heart.
God knows the lives we lead.
God stepped down from heaven's throne.
God imposed, so take heed.

God hung on a Roman cross.
Gos prayed, "Father, forgive."
God reached wide to give His life.
God saved so you might live.

God calls you by His Spirit.
God seals you with His name.
God anoints every worker.
God heals from Satan's game.

God holds you close as a son.
God names you with His own.
God loves you for glory's sake.
God fits you with a crown.

God sends you out to harvest.
God serves you with His pray'r.
God binds you with believers.
God endures with great care.



(c) 2010 by Kendra Hinkle.

Yes, Faith

Yes, faith has been required

Since God awakened man.

The heavenly lights raise their voice-

Allude to Glory's hand.

Yes, faith God smiled upon,

Through fallen man foretold.

The promised and anointed One

A King, Messiah, Son.

Yes, faith is our answer.

We watch for Christ again.

The perfect One raised to His throne,

A sacrificial Lamb.

Yes, faith God requires

To blanket earth with grace.

He sends the saints, in Spirit laced,

To boast salvation's song.

(c) 2010 by Kendra Hinkle.

Format is in Short Meter. Scriptural influence from Ps. 19 with Ps. 2, Ro. 1 & 10. See also discussion at jdwalt.com (Feb. 5, 2010).

Exponential Creativity

Creative desire and potential may show up as a loner, but creative products, results, outgrowth, or any masterpiece is borne of teamwork. Many people sense that something new needs to be done in ministry, but only a few step up and volunteer. Together we make things happen. Never underestimate the power of your neighbor!

p. xvi, Color Outside the Lines by Howard G. Hendricks (a.k.a. "Prof")

Old Running Shoes, Old Habits

Only a snob would overlook such quality. Torn mesh. Caked in mud. Worn smooth tread. These lads faithfully served my feet for several years and through half marathon training. But unfortunately, they served their purpose and are on the downhill stride. My feet wore the inside of the heels down through the lining, through the comfy shoe innards, leaving only the hard stuff that shapes the heel.

My degenerated running shoes remind me of old habits. Faithful to us, aren't they? We put certain thoughts into actions. And those actions get regular priority because they serve us in some way. Repeated again and again, we hard-wire our neural pathways into habits. Seems beneficial right? But unfortunately those old habits don't leave on their own. When habits cause us harm spiritually, emotionally, or relationally, we find ourselves facing a choice between God's best or our chosen habit.

If you're like me, life has included some very bad habits - the kind that lead you to the spiritual pit. Those habits can take years upon years to break and replace. I'd love to paint a pretty picture of turning away from sin, but the road out of the pit isn't paved, it's gravel. Each step takes balance and strength. Unpredictable strides. And you can bet that at several points you're going to bite it, taking a rest while you dig gravel bits out of your skin.

But you can get up and keep going.

You're not alone. Step back into stride. And keep your eyes focused on the glory of Christ ahead of you. The God who saved your life from the wages of sin enabled you to get out of this pit. The essence of victory lives in you through the gift of the Holy Spirit. One day you will look back, amazed at how far you've come. Even your own mind will change the way it works. New neural pathways. A renewed heart. God will accomplish it in you, with you, giving you confidence to turn away from old, sinful habits.

Are you troubled by the reality of your sin? Good. That's what Christ died for. That reality will always trouble you, but instead of discouragement a song of redemption will rise in you on that road out of the pit. So as you struggle today, remember that you can do this. You can climb out with God's help. And there will be rejoicing along the way.

Sing a song of redemption today, because it is yours through Jesus Christ's life, death and resurrection.

How blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
In whose heart are the highways to Zion!
Passing through the valley of weeping [Baca] they make it a spring;
The early rain also covers it with blessings.
They go from strength to strength,
Every one of them appears before God in Zion.

Psalm 84:5-7, NASB

(C) 2010 by Kendra Hinkle.

Was David a real King?

New archaelogical finding of Elah fortress (between Gath of the Philistines and Jerusalem) during the time of David evidences a kingdom that is little known about outside of the Bible!

New York Times reports:

http://www.elahfortress.com/page18/page23/page23.html

A Vision for the Head and the Heart

"So there is a second task needed in winning people over to a vision... Not only must there be thorough exegesis, there must also be a portrayal of the vision that satisfies the heart as well as the head. Or to put it another way: we must commend the beauty as well as the truth of the vision. We must show that something is not only right but also good. It is not only valid, but also valuable; not only accurate but also admirable."

This quote speaks of biblical manhood and womanhood ( ...), but I think the truth of vision casting for anything should take on both the factional rationale and the appeal to the heart. What a great application for any teacher, evangelist, or visioneer!


Recovering Biblical Manhood & Womanhood. Chapter 1 by John Piper, p. 33. Piper and Grudem, eds. Wheaton: Crossway, 1991.

Beautiful Scandalous Night #2

Empty Hands

Beautiful empty hands
in this dark night of my soul.
I've nothing to bring,
I never did.

But the emptiness reminds me
that the day it all began on June eleven
I could barely understand,
but I believed.

The cleansing water was sprinkled.
Jesus washed away the guilt of my sin.
My life exchanged for His
and the Spirit entered in.

No reason for boasting -
I played as a child, but something had changed.
Peace dwelt in my heart
first I'd ever known.

No returning to the land of death
even today in my dark night.
God changed me forever.
I am His.

Still to this day
I proclaim with joy these empty hands.
I've nothing to bring my living King.
Praise God, I never did.

(C) 2009 by Kendra Hinkle.

I Boast No More